Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Below are statements of Wafa Sultan which were presented as testimony in Geert Wilders’ trial. They were read out by the judge in the Amsterdam court last week.

From my point of view (and I admit to prejudice), Ms. Sultan’s lucid and matter-of-fact words make up a devastating indictment of Islam. The fact that they have been read into the trial record in Amsterdam will have a significance that resonates far beyond the Geert Wilders case.

Many thanks to our Flemish correspondent VH for the translation and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling.

Testimony of Wafa Sultan, expert witness for the defense, read out in the Amsterdam court (Part 1):

Testimony of Wafa Sultan, expert witness for the defense, read out in the Amsterdam court (Part 2):

A full transcript of each part is below the jump.Part 1:

00:01

I was born and raised as a Muslim. I have practiced Islam for 30 years. I was born in Syria,

00:08

and from my first school class until my graduation I took Qur’an lessons, two hours daily.

00:13

I studied medicine at the University of Aleppo in Syria, and graduated in 1981

00:20

as a medical doctor, and for four years specialized as a psychiatrist in a hospital.

00:25

I worked as a psychiatrist in Syria until 1989, the year of my emigration to the U.S.

00:33

Since my coming to the U.S. I have been involved at a scientific level with Islam.

00:38

For in the U.S. I can do that free and independently.

00:42

When I was working in Syria, even as a medical doctor, I was so indoctrinated,

00:46

that I was unable to think myself what was wrong with our religion.

00:50

I had many questions but was afraid to ask them. To research them.

00:54

In the U.S. I do can do that. My scientific work consists of

00:58

making comparisons between medicinal science, psychiatry, and Islam.

01:03

I seek an explanation for the backwardness of the Islamic world.

01:07

Belief leads to certain behaviors. All actions are the product of what we learn.

01:12

Which is generally the case, but also specifically for Islam.

01:17

If you ask me whether in the so-called nature / nurture debate I’d be more on the nurture side,

01:24

I say, my starting point is 50% nature and 50% nurture.

01:28

But over time, nurture is also becomes encoded in DNA,

01:33

and Islam has already existed for over 1400 years. You ask me for my publications:

01:38

I am a well-known writer in the Arab world. I published three books, and for an overview I refer to my website.

01:46

You ask me if I know Geert Wilders. I know him and I have met him twice

01:52

at an event in the U.S. where he gave speeches. One event was organized by

01:57

an organization I think is called “Stand with us’, the other was in Los Angeles.

02:02

Both events were in 2009, about one year ago. Longer ago I had seen the film Fitna:

02:09

I thus was familiar with Wilders’ message. At those events, I greeted Wilders

02:13

and shook his hand. I told him I am proud of him.

02:17

Why? Because he is brave enough to tell the truth.

02:22

You ask me what that ‘truth’ contains. That the problem the whole world is facing

02:26

is deeply rooted in Islamic teachings, the Qur’an and the biography of Muhammad.

02:32

You ask me what the problem is. [answer] That Muslims are aroused to kill non-Muslims.

02:38

The Qur’an says that Muhammad must be the role-model for every Muslim-man.

02:42

You ask me about the International Free Press Society in Denmark.

02:47

Yes, I just forgot [to mention] that, I had been invited in Denmark, I think also in 2009.

02:52

I have given a speech there, and so did Wilders. I then also greeted him.

02:57

He departed immediately after his speech, so I then had no extensive conversation with him.

03:02

You tell me you received a letter from the counselors of the complaining party, dated May 27, 2010,

03:08

to which a photograph is attached on which Wilders and I are pictured. That may be right.

03:13

You ask me at which event the photo was taken. It may be that time I gave a speech

03:18

and Wilders had to wait a short while until it was his turn. In any case I have not

03:22

been in a discussion panel with him. I cannot deny that I am one of Wilders’ supporters.

03:28

You tell me that in this letter I am quoted a few times, and ask me to read these quotes

03:34

and tell whether these quotes are correct. All quotes are consistent with much certainty.

03:39

The only thing is that I did not mean to say that the West should drop an atomic bomb

03:46

on the Arab world, quote number 7. But I did say that

03:51

the West must exert a lot of pressure. With that I mean economic and political pressure.

03:56

My entire tribe, my family, is Muslim. I don’t want to ask the West to drop an atomic bomb on my tribe.

04:02

For the rest I stand fully behind the quotes mentioned in this letter.

04:07

I am not familiar with Professor Jansen or Simon Admiraal. I have not been in touch with Wilders

04:11

about the statements to be made by me today. Wilders’ lawyer called me

04:15

asking if I was willing to testify, and I said yes. The prosecutor has never contacted me,

04:21

and no one ever told me what to say. My message is always similar.

04:27

On the summons she says: You ask me whether in general I have come across

04:32

quotes Wilders is alleged to have made that are incorrect. No, there is nothing incorrect

04:38

in the statements that Wilders is alleged have made. Thus said Ms. Sultan.

04:44

Then she is heard about a number of quotes; from here I will

04:48

first introduce the quote, and then the clarification she gives.

04:51

First quote: “ Islam will dominate, submit, and seeks to destroy our Western civilization.”

04:58

Ms. Sultan says this is correct. In the Qur’an it says the Islamic world wants to dominate.

05:03

Muhammad’s laws are proof that the Islam wants to dominate the world.

05:07

When Muhammad died, there was no enemy left. He had slain everyone

05:11

who was against him. That is written in the biography of Muhammad, which was written

05:16

in the first two centuries after his death. He died in 670, or, in any case, in the 7th century.

05:23

Next quote: “Stop Islamization”. Islamic values do not match the Western values.

05:30

Islam attaches no value to human life. Muslims are on earth to kill or be slain

05:36

in the name of Allah, to the benefit of Allah, to spread Islam,

05:40

and then you get a free ticket to heaven, according to Ms. Sultan.

05:44

You ask me how a Muslim in the West wants to make sure that Islam will prevail:

05:49

They ask non-Muslims to convert to Islam, initially in a peaceful way, but if they refuse, they will kill them.

05:57

Next quote. “A moderate Islam does not exist”. Ms. Sultan: Indeed, in Syria I never heard

06:05

of a moderate Islam or a strict Islam. There is only one Islam and that is the Islam I’m talking about.

06:11

Recently, the Prime Minister of Turkey also said that. He said the “moderate Islam” is an ugly phrase.

06:19

Next quote: “And Islam is the Qur’an and nothing but the Qur’an.”

06:23

Ms. Sultan: That’s right, those are the words of Allah.

06:27

Next quote: “And the Qur’an is the Mein Kampf of a religion that seeks to eliminate others”.

06:33

Ms. Sultan: To this I agree to some extent. The Qur’an is worse than Mein Kampf,

06:38

because Mein Kampf is a political book, the Qur’an is a mix of politics and religion.

06:42

In my opinion, it is easier to overcome a political ideology

06:47

than a political ideology that is packaged as a religious ideology.

06:53

Next quote: “The fascist Islam and that fascist book”.

06:57

Ms. Sultan says: That is correct. I’ll give an example of a Qur’anic verse:

07:02

‘I will strike terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. I’ will chop off their heads and fingertips’.

07:08

Is not that fascism? as Ms. Sultan said, I don’t know the location of this Qur’anic verse out of memory.

07:16

You tell me that there is a stream in the Netherlands that explains this verse in such a way

07:20

that it would only be valid in times of war. No, to Muslims the Qur’an is for every age and every place.

07:28

According to the Muslims it is the absolute word of Allah and every Muslim should behave in accordance with it. As Ms. Sultan said.

07:34

The prosecutor tells me that not all Muslims behave according to this, and asks me why that so.

07:40

This is because they don’t know the Qur’an well enough. The Qur’an is written in Arabic,

07:45

and 80% of the Muslims are not Arab. The Qur’an has never been translated in a good and fair manner.

07:52

That is because in the Islam it is forbidden to translate the Qur’an.

07:56

The translations are often somewhat softer — this she calls “sugar coated” —

08:00

than the Arabic original. Terrorism is more related to Arab muslims

08:05

than other Muslims, because the Arab Muslims are well aware of what is written in the Qur’an.

08:13

If they apply the core strictly, that can lead to terrorism against the West. Afghanistan was never terroristic,

08:19

until the Arab mujahideen got there; and Indonesia 30 years ago was a different country.

08:25

The Saudis have Arabized Indonesia with their oil money. Now they are more Wahhabi,

08:31

more strict Islamic than the Saudis themselves.

08:36

The following quote, which is a quote from Professor Israëli. I totally agree with it.

08:41

Muhammad says Allah will help you with the multiplying of your people, and being present in larger numbers

Next quote: “The Qur’an, free from all hate verses, would have the size of a Donald Duck”.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck …

This unintentionally hilarious turn of speech surely refers to a "Donald Duck" comic book and how removal of all hate speech from the Qur'an would see it reduced to the thickness of such a child's publication.

Personally, I believe that Donald Duck comic books have created far greater joy and had a more worthwhile influence upon our world than the Qur'an.

I just wanted to make sure that one important segment of testimony by the very admirable Wafa Sultan did not go unnoticed. To wit:

Video time point − 03:39 The only thing is that I did not mean to say that the West should drop an atomic bomb on the Arab world.

But I did say that the West must exert a lot of pressure. With that I mean economic and political pressure. My entire tribe, my family, is Muslim. I don’t want to ask the West to drop an atomic bomb on my tribe.

For the rest I stand fully behind the quotes mentioned in this letter.

Unfortunately, it is doubtful in the extreme that many people, Muslim or otherwise, understood the importance of what Wafa Sultan said in this excerpt from her deposition.

THIS IS ABOUT AN EX-MUSLIM ADVOCATING THE USE OF NUCLEAR ARMS AGAINST ISLAM.

Yes, she later withdrew said statement but there is the inescapable recognition of a truly deep hostility that Wafa Sultan must carry towards her country of origin and its creed.

As a woman, Sultan most likely carries an extra measure of resentment for all of the abuse she endured at the hands of Islam. Her own words make this very clear:

Video time point − 03:55 As I also describe in my book, I worked in the U.S. in the beginning as cashier at a gas station. There, as a female cashier, I was treated better than as a psychiatrist in Syria. [emphasis added]

What must not be forgotten is that these are the words of a well-educated professional who has seen, first hand, the machinations of Islamic culture.

If she can harbor such enmity despite − or, perhaps, because of − having come from an Islamic country, imagine how much anger is brewing over jihadist terrorism all around the world.

Does anyone really think that even a few imams took notice and warned their flocks that nuclear retribution may await further terrorist atrocities?

Is anyone convinced that Muslims have even a dawning awareness about their own vulnerability and how defenseless a majority of Islamic countries are in terms of experiencing indiscriminate retaliation from a world fed up to the teeth with constant Islamic aggression?

Wafa Sultan is no Tom Tancredo. She is someone with explicit knowledge and total experience of what it means to live in Islamic culture. This isn't some kneejerk reaction or baseless prejudice but, instead, a direct result of knowing what Islam portends for the world and its future.

Muslims beware. Your leaders have no compunction about sacrificing you in the millions for the sake of jihad. Sultan herself noted:

Video time point − 05:30: Islam attaches no value to human life. Muslims are on earth to kill or be slain in the name of Allah, to the benefit of Allah, to spread Islam, and then you get a free ticket to heaven, according to Ms. Sultan. [emphasis added]

The question remains as to how many Muslims really believe that their sole purpose on this earth is to "to kill or be slain in the name of Allah".

If many of them do not believe this, then they are monumental dupes whose tacit cooperation in jihad will visit upon them the endless and terrible wrath of an endlessly antagonized West.

If, in fact, Muslims really do believe that their sole purpose in life is "to kill … in the name of Allah", then the West has no reason to demonstrate an iota's worth of continued forebearance in the face of such unmitigated provocation.

Knowingly or not, Wafa Sultan has given voice to a meme that needs constant and extensive airing throughout the world in order that Muslims be put on notice as to just how precarious their position really is.

This is one of the few productive dialogues that the West can have with Islam. Jihad is an existential threat to Western culture and must be met with an existential threat to Islam itself. Anything less is unacceptable.